Recovery a Slow Process on Gulf Coast

The past year has seen the beginning of rebuilding on the Gulf Coast, but reports suggest it’s a slow process that might not prevent future disasters. Are we simply inviting the same problems over again?

USA Today’s Anne Rochell Konigsmark says the city is “in the midst of a halting, sloppy recovery. But it is recovering, despite dire predictions last September that the city was gone and admonitions that it should not be rebuilt. For better or for worse, five or 10 years from now, New Orleans will be pretty much what it was before the storm hit, with many of the same charms – and many of the same problems.”

Throughout the article, Konigsmark looks at areas of the city such as the levees, crime, the city’s master plan (or lack thereof) and the city’s dramatic population drop. To read the article, click here: http://www.builderonline.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=26&articleID=353220

The White House, however, is touting significant progress in rebuilding the Gulf Coast, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Julie Mason, even as officials concede less than half of the $110 billion allotted for recovery has been spent.

“There is always a balance in attention between getting the money out fast and getting the money out responsibly fast,” said Don Powell, federal coordinator for the Office of Gulf Coast Rebuilding. To read Mason’s article, click here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4134865.html

For more on the strength of New Orleans’ rebuilt levees, click here:

http://www.cegltd.com/story.asp?story=7451&headline=Officials%0Levee%20System